Unification Church Bookstore in New York 35 Jonathan Gullery 36 New Books and Videotapes
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A Poem for Poems, a Song for Songs Were there no poems and were there no songs, Our sorrows would be bitter for lack of expression; Our joys would be dimmer for lack of fulfillment; Our hearts would be harder for lack of caresses. Were there no sunlight and were there no rains, the flowers of our being would never grow in stature; The gardens of our righteousness would choke on weeds of avarice, And we would be unmade. But were there no parents, no True Parents for us children, we'd have no voice for poems, nor any ear for songs, we never could be joyful, we'd have no need of sunlight, nor could we taste the rain. Yet ... See now that the Great Poet, the Master of The Music, the Giver of Our Joyfulness, the Father of the Sunlight, who cries with Gentle Rain, has heard our silent weeping, and given up His Heart, to give us our True Parents that we might learn to live and love and give as much as He. - Calvin Johnson FEBRUARY 1983 Volume 4 Number 2 Standing in the Presence of God 2 Rev. Sun Myung Moon MyPledge 9 Rev. Sun Myung Moon Mother's First Seven-Year Course 16 Compiled from various testimonies and speeches New Impetus to the Providence in America 23 Notes from recent leaders' conferences God: The Contemporary Discussion U 26 Jack Kiburz, Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak Let's Embody God's Words 29 Mrs. Haruko Kanari 32 Preliminary Report on the International Higbtt·ay Unification Church Bookstore in New York 35 Jonathan Gullery 36 New Books and Videotapes Credits: Subscription Information: Publisher/ Advisor Rev. Chung Hwan Kwak U.S. $32.00 per year Editor Joy Pople Air mail to Europe $57.00 per year Assistant Jonatha A. Johnson (2 or more to the same address, $50.00 each) Designer Janice Johnson Surface mail to any country: $42.00 per year Make check payable to: Photo Credits: HSA-UWC, World Mission Department Front cover and True Parents: New Future Photos. Historical photos: Send payment to Today's World Magazine, HSA-UWC, Korea. God Conference: Dagfin Asli<l . 481 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA Today's World 1s a publication of the World Mission Department of the Holy Spirit As~ociation for the Unification of World Christianity. It 1s written for the members of the Unification Church around the world. The Rev. Sun Myung Moon is its founder. The purpose of tins JOUmal is to be a source of information and mspirauon for its readers, a forum for their exchange of news and testimonies, and 1 sharing of heart among the brothers and sisters of the Unification Church's world-wide movement. Tuday's World is a publication of HSA-UWC. You take good care of yourselves, but do you take as good care of God? STANDING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD REV. SUN MYUNG MOON BELVEDERE SELECTIONS FROM NOVEMBER 7, 1982 SPEECH How have you been? Have you been well? It has been 39 Will people living happily with God in the spirit world ever days since I went away. It seemed like an eternity, didn't it? think about getting old? Spirit world has nothing but good When you are living together, time passes quickly, but when ness: good beginnings, good days, ending of good days, you are waiting, it goes very slowly. For two people who love beginning of more good days- an endless continuation of each other, time passes like a fraction of a second. The more good days. Everyone will be joyful and happy- no waiting, intense the Jove, the more quickly time passes. But waiting no anxiety. Hope is fulfilled, so we will continue living for such a loving person, time passes slowly. happy days. Heaven is full of love, nothing but love and Imagine the spirit world, living day in and day out, within loving life. Can you imagine that? Of course, we are not the love of God. How quickly ten thousand years will pass! there yet. We have to prepare. 2 TELL GOD, 'I REALLY LIKE YOU' country and all its citizens, but the citizens didn't want to be Let me ask you a question. Have you loved God? Do you like offered. Could God be happy if He were loved with those God? How much do you like God? When you stand in the proceeds? He is not a greedy God, demanding that you offer presence of God, tell Him, "God, I really like You, I love something or somebody who doesn't want to be offered. You; I want to live together with You and never be separated." Suppose you own a company that is doing very well, You say that to God, and He will respond to you . God is the turning a profit. Would you sell that for the love of God'? most important element in our religious life. You don't think Some of the employees might say, "Yes, please sell us and of God as a concept- just as you don't think of your spouse love God," but others might object, "No, I don't want to be as a concept. He is a fact, a reality. \\e have to feel that, just sold." Even on a company level, you would find such like breathing in and out. Those who have only concepts of responses. Then do you think God would say, ''Go ahead and God's existence are unstable. We can intensely imagine Him sell the company. even though they don't want to be sold"? right with us, and pretend we are living together. No, He wouldn't. I can say that I like God. Do you feel a realistic love On a still smaller scale, in your own home, you can do towards God? Can you feel that God is like Jeung Jin Nim? anything you want. Perhaps you want to sell your posses Sometimes the saliva comes out of her mouth, her nose runs, sions, including your house, and love God with them. But she wets her diapers-whatever she does, it doesn't make any suppose the house would say, "I don't want to be sold, difference-you cannot help feeling love towards her. especially not to a black man." Do you really like God? If you really like God a lot, are Back to the standard. When you say you love God, what you always pleading with Him to help you? Who is supposed do you mean? By what standard do you love God? to be the helping one-the one who likes you, or the one We want to do anything that we physically can do in order whom you like? Which is a more nonnal attitude to have: to Jove God. But we have to realize how difficult it is to carry "Since I like that person so much, I will help him," or "Since it out. Everything put together could not equal the \ alue of I like him so much, he should help me"? The first one, right? God. If not a single person loves God more than anything If you really like someone, you don't expect help from him, else, then God finds Himself reduced to the value of small but you want to help him. If you help the one you like with things. Even if He has a potential universal value, He cannot the hope of getting something in return, your liking has the claim it or feel it. In other words, God doesn't have that least value; you can hardly call it real liking. If you give value unless He has someone who loves Him that much. someone a hundred dollars and don't remember having given When we do many things in order to love God, maybe it, that liking is more valuable; your liking then is worth a later, when we are in a difficult position, we can ask Him to hundred dollars. do something for us. But if we have done nothing for God, it So far, we have talked only about liking. How about makes no sense to ask Him to do something for us. You think loving? If we really love God, how much have we done to you are willing to do absolutely anything for1he sake of the show that love? That is a really serious question to consider. love of God. But can you do that? And are you doing that? WHAT CAN YOU GIVE FOR HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LOVED GOD'S LOVE? GOD? Whom have you loved in the past, with a love comparable to When God calls out to me and asks me, "Do you really Jove your love for God? Do you love God like you love yourself? me?" I say, "Yes." And then God asks, "How much have you When you are cold, you put on a coat; when you are hungry, loved Me?'' God, of course, wants me to love Him with a you feed yourself; when you ant to look pretty, you put on huge Jove. While I am giving God huge love, what are you makeup. You take good care of yourselves, but do you take doing? Helping me give Jove, right? Or maybe you feel that as good care of God? Have you ever loved God as much as the process of giving love brings too much suffering, and you you love yourself? don't want to become involved. The question of how much we love God was already Suppose I want to offer you to God, but you don't want to raised in the Bible.